Nontorsional stylus



July 15,- 1952 J. BAKER NONTORSIONAL STYLUS Filed Aug. 12, 1946 I Patented July 15, 1952 I H l mos-1'92 w 1 NoNTRsI0NAL STYLUS: '1 DonaldJfB aker, Los dngelesg "Application'August12,194d;S'erial"No.'G90,028;

This invention relates to a stylus or needle for sound recording and reproducing units. Ihe stylus is especiallydesigned for use "on s'ound -translatihg devices which may be used both-for recording and reproducing 'soundi -j I An object of the invention is to dev'ise 'a'f stylus for use on lateral-cutrecords.and in' which there will'be no torsional forces acting' on the supporting' shank of the needle. A further object isto devise a stylus which maybe used both as -a recording stylus and a reproducing stylus a sound translating unit in which the stylus chuck has a vertical axis"and-' oscillates about a horizontal axis. A supplementalobject'is'to provide the proper angle-of inclination of the stylus to the surface" of the record without introducing Some of theadvantages of my stylus include (1) 1 freedom from' distortion inor re;- producing sound due to torsional vibrationbfthe {some (01. 2744s torsionalforces; Another object is to pr'ovidea {renewable tip for the stylus. 1

stylus-er of the stylus Supporting system'; '('2)"the supporting chuck shown in dotted lines; Figure 2 is aplanviewof thestylus of Figure 1; l figur'e 3 is ,a perspective view of the stylus; shown; in 'F 'igplan views of a comi'noir form of 'stylusj Fi'gure 5 'is a plan view of the stylusoi'ffifigure 4; Figurefi is a side view of another fo'rn fof my styl SifFig uresfl'l and 8 are side and front views of my stylus provided witha replaceable tip; and Figures}? and 10 are fragmentary views showing two other forms" of replaceable "tips.

It will be understood, that the accompanying drawings illustrate the stylus and the supporting h ck ma e enl edsga e -q2 V :1

Referring to the drawing gthe lower end of a st lus chuck is shown in dotted lines at I. The c y V V n x 11 and the oint of the stylus lags behind chuck has-a vertical axis la and is embodied in a soundtranslating unit which may be used both for, recording and reproducing "purposes; .The manner of mounting of the, chuck is notmateri'al 1a, l he torsionalaiforces acting on the needle to the present invention and will not .iblelidescribed here" except to say that it'is mounted :to oscillate abouta horizontal axis indicated at lb. A clamping screwlc'is providedat the lower end of the chuck for clamping the stylus 2 in the I Q, s I i: ir

Theimproved styluszof my invention is-tormed of a straight vertical shank portion 2a at the butt end thereof. which extends into, the stylus chuck 1 coaxially withrthe axis 1 a of the: chuck, an intermediate portio'n 2b'. extending at, an angle-:to

the chuck 'axisiza, a straight portion 20; adjacent the-tip end of ztheistylus and arranged at an angle A to the axis! a,i.and' arecord-engagingj point 2d gwhich terminateslon the axis la. "The shank p0 2- tion 2a: has a flat face :2a' :against,which .,the clamping screw .lccpresses.

..-The entirestylus. may be formed-of agsingle rod of metalaof a uniform stock throughout, or the portions 2a, 2b-and 20, may be formed of metal and the; point 2d ;formed,of sapphire or other suitable 1material; The point ,Zdi is preferably formed as .a conicalrpoint symmetrical about the -axis,2c'. This type of; point is, suitable either-tor embossing; purposes or, for; reproducing purposes. Forthe: purpose of; explaining the advantage of my improved stylus, I have shown in Figures .iand 5 one form of stylus which has been in corn; -mon' use 'on. sound translating elements provided witha stylus chuck having a vertical axis ia A' s will be seen,:the;;stylus 4; involvesa straight shank iportionfl'a. positi'onedrfinthe chuck and a terminal: .portion..i4b, arranged at an angle'Af 'to the axis 1a; As. will be seen in Figure 4, the pointof the needle engages therecord at adistance X from "the chuck axis I a, and, this distance 2 constitutes a moment arm by'whichthe lateral forces exerted on the pointofxthe needle tend toset up torsionalmovementof. the needle about the; axis la produces a tgrsional drag on' the end of the stylusflwhen the chuck is oscillating about the the movement of the chuck axis ,lafduririg most of the movement, but has a fwhip-like action atthe end of each excursion which results in the point of the needle swinging farther. ,outthan it should; This. introduces undesirable distortion; 1 m h q s fi i o -m f svled ausa es the recordronthe-axis lazdf the chuck, .it be obvious thatlno. torsional forcesiwilllbe dveloped I 1 r s eii 'sf ism/ 11s e Qnih chuck: t and by embossing, it will be obvious that the point of the stylus may be formed with a cutting face formed along the axis la of the chuck l, and the stylus could then be'used as a cutting stylus without the introduction of torsional forces.

The arrow shown below the point 2d in Figure l. repre sents the direction of movement of the record when the stylus is used for embossing or when the stylusis used for reproducing'purp'o'ses; Themovement of the record would be in the opposite v direction for a stylus provided with a cutting face. The angle A by which'the straight tip portion 20 is inclined to the. straight shank portion 212 may vary between to 50. depending upon the material of which the record is formed, but

usually will be Within the range of to 45. For most materials, this angle will lie between 24 3 and 30 and foran acetate record, the angle may be betwe'en24 and28, and the pressure for recording" byembossing may be .of the order of five Uu-nces- For Vin-ylite records, the angle A may be somewhat smaller and the pressure may be of the order of two and a half ounces. V

In FigureG I have shown amodified form of stylus which a rounded notch 2e is formed in the frohthalf' of the stylus at the juncture of the portions 21? and 20. This notch is out about halfway'through the stylus and,.-in eflect, produces a hinge joint in the stylus to take up any 'veruem component of motionof the tip of the s'tylusfandthereby reduces the'response of the H translating-device"to the vertical'component.

Figures 7 and 8 are greatly enlarged drawings showing'side and front views of my stylus provided "withja replaceable tip which prefer.-

ably is formed of a jewel point 2d (such as sapphire} mounted in a metal cup or ring 6 provided'with a stein or shank 1 whichextends into an axial bore formed in-the-end of sectionf2c. jlhe endof-section '20 is split by a saw-cut or ker f '8 formed in a vertical plane, and the end portions on oppositesides ofthe out are pinched F together somewhat, before .the'tip is inserted, to

provide a clamp-ing action-on the shank I. v

'In Figure 9 the tip is held in the end of the stylus by threaded engagement between the a d sect n l l mi; I V J 1 rkstylus comprising an integral rod structure iormed of stock having a uniform cross- I threaded shank l and a threadedbore formed in 1 section throughout its length and having a straight shank portion, a straight tip portion arranged at an angle to said shank portion between 1 '0 andi50". and anintermediate portion con'necting'said shank and tip portions, said tip portion carrying at its lower end a record-en gaging point having its apex located on the axis of said'shankportion. V 2. stylus for "use ina" sound translating unit having a'vertic'al chucking axis, comprising an integral rod structure formed of stock having a uniform cross-s'ection throughout its length and having a straight shank portion arranged coaxiany with said chucking axis, a straight tip por file of this patent:

4 tion arranged at an angle to said chucking axis, and an intermediate portion joining said shank and tip portions, said tip portion having a pointed section throughout its length r and* having a straight shank portion and a straight tip'portionarranged at an angle to said shank portion of the order of 30 degrees, said tip portion carrying at its lower end a record-engaging point symmetrically formed about the axis of said tip portion and having its apex located on the axis of said shank portion.

4. A stylus formed of round stock material of uniform diameter throughout its length and having a straight shank portion at the butt end thereof, a'straight tip portion arranged at an angle to the axis of said shank portion between 15 and 45, said tip portion having a conical end symmetrically formed about the axis of the tip portion and terminating on the axis of said shank portion. v V

5. A stylus comprising an integral rod structure formed ofstock having a uniform cross-section throughout its length and having a straight shank portion and a straight 'tip portion arranged; atan angle to the axisof said shank portion o'fsubstantially 26, said tip portion having a conical end formed'symmetrically about the axis of said tip portion and terminating on the axis of said shank portion. H

6. A stylus comprising an integral rod structure formed of stockhaving a uniform cross-section throughout its length and having a straight shank portion,a straight tip portion arranged .at an angle to said shank portion and an interend ofthetipportion of the stylus is split andthe two halves of the split portion are crimped together to exert a clamping action on the stem 50 of the replaceable tip.

,8. A stylus according to claim 6 wherein the replaceabletip is secured to the tip portion of the stylus by a threaded connectionbetween the stem-of the-tipand the walls, of said bore.

A'stylus according to claim. 6 wherein the stem. of the replaceable tip is tapered and is held inpos'ition by frictional engagement with the walls. of the bore which. is correspondingly taiiil'd.

' DONALD J. BAKER.

REFERENCES 'CiT'E-l) The following references are of record in the 4 [UNITED STATES PATENTS I Number Name 7 Date 7 7 881,594 Konigstein Mar. 10', 1908 1,139,201 Ahlstrom Dec: '10, 1 929 2,438,111 Campbell -..e- Mar. 23, 1948 2,455,913 Bauer Dec. 14, 1948 g A I FOREIGN PATENTS H Number Country Date 350,887 Great Britain June 18, 1931 

